Geoscience Australia Borehole Database: Onshore and Offshore Records

Geoscience Australia's Boreholes database provides borehole header, directional survey, and lithostratigraphic data. The service includes records from Geoscience Australia, its predecessor organizations, all Commonwealth offshore marine jurisdictions, and selected onshore boreholes from government and private entities. Data is sourced from various state, territory, and Commonwealth regulatory authorities and conforms to the GeoSciML v4.1 data transfer standard where possible.

Use Cases

• Subsurface geological modeling based on lithostratigraphic observations.
• Planning mineral or groundwater exploration using borehole location and survey data.
• Stratigraphic correlation and analysis across Australian regions.
• Validating geological maps and models with direct borehole evidence.

Strengths

• Conforms to the international GeoSciML v4.1 data transfer standard, promoting interoperability.
• Includes data from a wide range of sources, covering both onshore and all Australian Commonwealth offshore marine jurisdictions.
• Provides a detailed data dictionary and vocabulary documentation for borehole status definitions.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, specific column names, license, and author are not provided in the available sources.
• Geoscience Australia notes it is not the authoritative regulatory source for all data, and users must consult the original custodian agencies for authoritative information.
• The dataset's completeness for onshore boreholes is described as a 'selection', suggesting it is not a complete national registry.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, sourcing data from various state, Northern Territory, and Commonwealth government regulatory authorities.

Collection Method

Compiled from borehole records submitted by drilling entities for research purposes.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-04-30 according to the most recent platform entry.

Geography

Australia, including onshore locations and all Commonwealth offshore marine jurisdictions.